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    Home > Coatings News > Paints and Coatings Market > Industry | Australia has developed a new marine coating technology: copper can be extracted from seawater

    Industry | Australia has developed a new marine coating technology: copper can be extracted from seawater

    • Last Update: 2021-03-28
    • Source: Internet
    • Author: User
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    The US$350,000 project will conduct a series of sea trials in the next 12 months, which will be carried out by Flinders University in South Australia in cooperation with the University of South Australia, the shipyard ASC and the Australian Department of Defense.
    Bactericide coatings that release copper into the water to kill organics such as algae and barnacles on the ship's surface are the most commonly used antifouling coatings .
    However, this has caused an environmental problem of the enrichment of copper in port water all over the world.
    Fungicide coatings and antifouling coatings have proved that when the ship speed reaches a certain speed, alternative silicon-based coatings can effectively remove algae and other organisms, but they are expensive and cannot prevent the accumulation of ships moored at the docks.
    Silicon-based paint Flinders University researchers spent four years developing a chemically engineered carbon-based paint that can absorb copper ions from seawater and release them using electrical pulses.
    Part of the funding for this latest project comes from a $150,000 grant provided by the South Australian State Government’s Defense Innovation Partnership Program to test new coatings in marine environments.
    Another coating that uses only electrical pulses to remove dirt will also be tested.
    Flinders University Biofilm Research and Innovation Alliance Professor Mats Andersson said that the length of each cycle will also be tested to determine the best timing.
    "You need to wait for a period of time to allow it to absorb copper from the sea water, then use electricity to stimulate it to release copper, and then absorb and release it again, so this is a closed cycle.
    " When the copper is released, it kills the creatures formed on the hull.
    "You need to wait for a period of time to allow it to absorb copper from the sea water, then use electricity to stimulate it to release copper, and then absorb and release it again, so this is a closed cycle.
    " When the copper is released, it kills the creatures formed on the hull.
    "We have conducted preliminary research and found that it can work, but we don't know whether the cycle should be 10 minutes, one hour or one day, so this is one thing we need to test during the experiment.
    "Fouling of the hull will cause a decrease in speed and maneuverability, increase fuel usage, damage the hull, and pose a biosecurity threat to the spread of diseases.
    New Zealand is the first country to introduce strict national bio-contamination regulations in 2018 to prevent foreign aquatic diseases and invasive marine life.
    Other countries will follow New Zealand.
    At the same time, due to concerns about pollution and its potential impact on local marine life, the use of traditional copper-based antifouling paint has received unprecedented rigorous scrutiny.
    The test in South Australia will place a coated 20cm x 20cm metal sample in sea water for about two months.
    Professor Andersson said: "We want to try several different formulations and see how much we can stop and how effective electrochemistry itself is in preventing growth, because we have seen that this method does not release copper.
    It can work.
    " "We don’t know if it’s effective yet, but we have conducted small-scale trials in laboratory fish tanks, and it seems feasible.
    " The technology is still in the prototype stage, but Professor Andersson said that if the final product is realized Fully commercialized, it has global potential.
    "This is definitely a big market because it is still a major issue.
    Discussions around this issue have been going on for 10-15 years, but there has been no good or realistic solution.
    " The Ministry of Defense is the project's Partners and will seek opportunities to potentially use this coating as part of its A$50 billion Royal Australian Navy renewal program.
    This includes the construction of 9 Hunter-class frigates and 12 attack-class submarines at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide, which is currently undergoing a $500 million upgrade.
    The antifouling coating project is one of four projects funded by South Australia through the latest round of defense innovation partnerships.
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